Schumer proposes national network of manufacturing hubs

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was at the Eastman Business Park on Thursday touting legislation he is helping craft to create a national network of 15 advanced manufacturing hubs.

The designation could help develop new companies and commerical products, as well as creating hundreds of jobs, said Schumer, D-N.Y. He highlighted the Eastman Businsess Park’s potentail as a national hub, noting park officials and Rochester area photonics companies already have been working with federal officials to develop the program.

The legislation, which he is drafting with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is called the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation Act of 2013. It would authorize the creation of the hubs through a competitive application process.

“Upstate New York deserves the chance to lead the nation in high-tech manufacturing, and the first-ever legislation that I’m proposing today, which would mean massive investment in research and job creation at 15 manufacturing hubs, could do just that,” Schumer said in a statement.